Cigar Review Panel Member
rzaman
Posts: 2,650 ✭✭✭
I have been selected to be a review panel member for a new blend. I am not allowed to release any information about this cigar. However, this is one of the largest Latin American business conglomerate and not into cigar business. This business family is also one of the richest and largest in the entire Latin America. They will not release the cigar or officially come into the cigar business if they cannot come up with a top quality cigar. This is the reason why they do not want to publish their interest in the cigar business. The master blender is a prominent Nicaraguan-American. I am very humbled to be selected as a member of the tasting panel. This is going to be the first round and we are going to taste six different blends. This is suppose to be a pure Nicaraguan Puro. I am super duper excited. Stay tuned...
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They couldn't have picked a better person.
Sounds like an excellent adventure.
Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy cigars and that's close enough.
We were total seven people tasted the preliminary sample blends. We were suppose to taste six different blends but we stopped after fourth blend. All of us attended with clean palate, closed door with various drinks and plenty of water and club soda. Club soda is the best drink to clean the palate.
During initial tasting, tasters do not smoke any cigar to the nub because a good cigar welcome a smoker to the first third. Dustin, you are correct, at this stage we smoke 1/3 to narrow them down. When the blend comes closer then tasters smoke it up to the nub. I was lucky to taste several tasting blends when the Cuenca and Blanco cigar was in the development stage and did the same>
Long story in short, the first blend started with a nice sweet, nutty creamy texture but after 1/3 it didnt change the complexity that much so it was time to stop smoking the blend. We drank some club soda to clean our palate and lighted up the 2nd blend. It started with more strength with distinctive caramel and cedar notes. However, I putted it down pretty quickly because it lacked intensity and flavors. Couple other members continued . We all took our own tasting notes so it was up to us when to light up and stop smoking. I started the 3rd blend before anyone else. It started with very aromatic flavor and aroma with medium finish and less creamy texture. I smoked it up to the 2/3 but stopped for lack of complexity just before final/3rd. The fourth one was very spicy at the same time aromatic. The goal is to make a creamy, sweet, flavorful and complex blend with medium strength. After three an half hours, I decided to stop tasting because it wasnt close to the objectives.
Each of the panel members took their time and notes and controlled the timing by themselves. My main role was to identify the super premium blend quality. I have no certification on cigar blending or formal training so I had to go with my instinct and limited smoking experience. My take on the blends was little straight forward- none of them met the objectives and criteria of the company. I liked the 1st and 3rd in a certain extend. I put my suggestions as to decrease the ligeros and add little more Jalapa viso to add more sweetness to it and change the wrapper. It was not aged long enough. I suggested an aged Corojo98, someone suggested an aged Connecticut. My concern was the bitterness of the Connecticut but if the wrapper can be aged in a port or cognac barrel then it is possible to reduce the bitterness of the Connecticut. We explored the option using Subido wrapper but it was dropped by the master blender for some valid concern.
However, we all agreed, it was not ready. We identified the strength and weaknesses and decided to add all the strength into one cigar for the next sample blends. The blender asked for a 2-4 weeks to accommodate all the changes and we will get together soon for the next round. In a nutshell, we are far away from the final blend.
It is fascinating to see how the different palates and personal likes influence the tasting. People also become very emotional, specially the Master blender. It is very hard for him to see how his unborn baby has been criticized by the tasters even before her birth . People become angry and frustrated during tasting. However, at the end, it is all cool, we thanked each other, apologized to each other for our agree to disagree position.
I believe some of you are thinking how I got into this. Remember, my friend He-Man: The Master of the Cuban Cigar? He has been selected to oversight the entire project by the owner of the company. He is an expert on cigars from all over the world and also the distributor of Cuban cigars here. His knowledge is based on extensive traveling, smoking and from armature blending. He is the one who invited me to be a member of the review panel.
As I mentioned to you earlier that this company is not into cigar business and they want the cigar of Nicaragua. They are still ready to get out from the venture if it does not meet their criteria. This is a reason why they asked He-Mans help rather than from a cigar producer. This is a clear private sector mentality- looking for the right person not the certification. He-Man also decided to change two panel members who were also cigar producers. They were heavily comparing the blends with their top creations. A blend born with a lot of hard work, emotion, creativity, personal pride and prejudice. It is a difficult task unless like as usual commercial blends. It is very easy to make a strong cigar but very difficult to create a balanced, medium bodied premium blend. Nicaraguas weaknesses is- it still extensively depends on foreign wrapper. When a cigar come to the market, the producer never reveal the true blends. Many times when they say Puros, they do not want to tell us that there is something from another country.
Anyway, I am not allowed to talk a lot so I will limit and end the topic here. All I can say is, I am very humbled to be part of this creation. It is a eye opening experience. I love cigar and the culture around it.